Dineshwar Sharma, the Centre's special representative for talks on Kashmir, said that his focus in the new role would be to prevent the Valley's youth from falling prey to false online propaganda. He will be heading for his maiden visit in his new role to Jammu and Kashmir later this week, said countering false sloganeering and propaganda available online tops his agenda to wean away youth from wanton violence.Surprisingly, everyone asks me whether I want to meet Hurriyat and other separatists groups. I am open to meeting all as has been made clear by the Union home minister (RajnathSingh) while making the announcement. Why does this doubt arise in the first place.I am going to the Valley with no blinkers on. I am willing to meet every common person who has a genuine grievance.

Viewpoint

It is a known fact that the youth of Kashmir is getting radicalised by false online propoganda on a regular basis. This needs to be curbed as the youth and students are the foundation of building a strong nation and taking forward Jammu and Kashmir to new heights. It is required that the youth who are misguided, get an oppurtunity to interact one to one with the government machinery and clear their misconceptions at this stage so that they progress with a focused vision. As seen earlier, any effort to understand what young Kashmiri's want and what the government has to offer are usually eclipsed by the seperatists, as this would threaten their existence and reduce them to rubble. Pakistan does not have the resonance for Kashmiris that it had a few years ago. The alarming levels of terrorism induced instability in Pakistan combined with the painful memories of militancy in Kashmir for which Kashmiris blame Pakistan have served to make Pakistan a “non-option” for the this generation in Kashmir. Therefore, perhaps this is an opportunity for building bridges which must be tread carefully.